Revelation
by Realmlife
Summary: Diana makes a startling discovery while recovering from a recent injury. One for the E/D fans out there.


**Disclaimer:  
**I do not own the D&D cartoon. This is for fun, not for profit.

**Authors Notes:  
**Written for the danddtoon ficathon on LiveJournal.

**Prompt:**  
Eric & Diana - Food - "How sweet it is..."

**-X-**

**Revelation**

Diana could see them quite clearly, trying to decide who it should be; debating which of them should be forced to do the unpleasant task. Bobby had already made a quick escape with Uni, and it was no surprise that their leader was not keen on being the one to do it, not after what had happened earlier. Sheila was certainly not going to put herself forward again, which only left Eric or Presto.

She had been injured about a week ago, landing badly, twisting her ankle and spraining her wrist. Nothing too serious, but to someone as physically active as she was used to being, it had been a disaster. With the Cavalier's help she had managed to make it the short distance from where she had fallen to their current location, a small secluded spot with a variety of fruit trees and bushes surrounding it, a fresh water spring, and the added bonus of a large cave to shelter in at night.

At first she had been relatively cheerful, despite the pain she had been in, but as time went by her attitude changed. She became dispirited, and nothing the others said or did helped her melancholy mood. She was sat just inside the caves entrance, frowning. She was angry that she had no one to talk to, but was equally aware that her own temper was the reason the others were keeping their distance.

She gave a sigh of frustration when she saw Eric pick up an empty plate, place some items upon it and then walk towards her. The prospect of any of them approaching her was not appealing, but given the choice, he would have been fifth on her list. She scowled as he entered the cave, but to her astonishment he spoke quite calmly as though he had noticed nothing.

"Dinner is served."

She glared at him before turning her attention to the offering of food he had placed before her. She surmised that Presto was obviously not having much luck with his hat tonight as it contained a mixture of the fresh fruits which were growing nearby. She did notice that the Cavalier had managed to select her preferred varieties, a freak coincidence she concluded, of peaches, mangos, pineapple and strawberries.

"You could at least say thanks," Eric grumbled.

"Thanks," she stated, without sincerity.

"And mean it."

She remained quiet, choosing not to answer, daring him to continue.

"You could try this," he said, and then added in a mocking tone, "Oh Eric, how kind, how thoughtful, all my favourites."

She noted that he had referred to his choice of her favourites and was surprised that he had bothered, but was even more amazed that he had actually known what her favourites were. She then found herself fighting a smile as he picked up one of the peaches and took a bite to continue the act.

"How sweet it is. It's just simply divine."

He then took a second bite but made the mistake of not paying enough attention to what he was doing. He began coughing and spluttering, and bits of peach went flying everywhere, including all over her.

It took about a minute for him to regain control of his breathing. She tried to remain stern as he looked at her, red faced, but failed, and burst out laughing.

"So this is the thanks I get," he gasped.

He scrambled to his feet and as he spun around to leave she noticed the hurt expression on his face. She immediately regretted upsetting him, especially as he had been the one to somehow snap her out of her depression.

"Eric," she cried, "I'm sorry."

He stopped, but made no move to turn back towards her. She leaned forwards and cried out in pain as she inadvertently placed her full body weight on her injured arm. In an instant he was at her side, kneeling beside her.

"Diana?"

"I'm fine," she assured him, and then added, "I really am sorry, for everything."

"It's OK," he replied.

"No, it's not OK," she argued. "I've been grumpy, cross and bad tempered with everyone since I got hurt."

Eric opened his mouth to disagree, but knowing she was right Diana cut him off.

"Don't try and pretend otherwise, I know I've been a pain."

"OK, you've been a complete pain in the ass," he agreed, with a slight smirk on his face as he spoke.

She raised her eyebrows at his comment and their eyes met, enabling her to see a flash of uncertainty as he worried that he had put his foot in it. She smiled to reassure him and noticed the change in his demeanour as he relaxed, realising that she was not going to snap at him.

"Do you want some more fruit," she asked, and then added playfully, "choking optional!"

He narrowed his eyes as her quip, but then grinned and helped himself to a large strawberry.

"Oi, that was the best one," she complained.

"I know," he replied and then promptly took a second one from the plate.

"Hey!" Diana exclaimed, and quickly took a strawberry and a few pieces of pineapple for herself.

"Oh, so you are hungry then," Eric commented.

She didn't bother to grace him with a reply. He knew as well as she did that she was more than hungry by now. She had barely eaten anything that day, picking at the food she had been given, having no appetite for it; and all because she was sulking about not being able to exercise.

That morning, Hank had ordered her to stay put and rest her ankle. At that she had completely lost it, yelling at him, telling him to stop interfering and pointing out that she was perfectly capable of making her own decisions. The Ranger had wisely not argued back seeing that she was in no mood to be reasoned with and instead, he, along with everyone else, had quickly exited the cave leaving Diana to her own miserable company.

She had however been rational enough to adhere to his advice. Her ankle was now much better after several days of inactivity and it would only take an extra day or two more before she would be back to normal. Risking a setback now would have been extremely foolish. So despite the temptation to disobey just for the sake of it, common sense had prevailed, and she had not moved.

Since then, everyone had avoided her. Apart from the Cavalier, Sheila had been the only other person to venture in to see her, once to bring her some breakfast and later to give her some lunch. She remembered, rather shamefully, how nasty she had been to her friend.

On her first visit she had just been damn right rude, which had not provoked any kind of reaction from Sheila. However, on her second trip, having found that verbal attacks were ignored, Diana had actually thrown the meal at her, narrowly missing the other girls head. It was no wonder that the Thief had not wanted to put herself back in the firing line and bring the Acrobat her dinner, so instead Eric had been the one to volunteer.

She looked at him now, puzzling over why he would do that and found he was staring at her.

"Do you want me to go?" he asked.

"NO," she answered, a little too quickly, and then stammering a little, she added, "I could use the company."

She half expected him to make a joke at her expense, but instead he just smiled and offered her the plate. She smiled back and took another piece of fruit. The Cavalier remained quiet, watching her eat, and she found herself blushing under his scrutiny.

_Get a grip_, she reprimanded herself. She was finding his silent presence a little intimidating, a feeling she was not used to, and yet was oddly glad of it at the same time.

It seemed that she was not the only one to find the lack of conversation unnerving. They both spoke together, each saying the others name, breaking the silence and then laughing as the tension between them dissolved.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked.

"Much better," she replied. "Thanks."

At that moment they both happened to reached for the same piece of mango and their fingers met. They both blushed and Diana found that she could not face him. Instead she felt him take her wrist, turn it in his hand, place the fruit in her outstretched palm and gently close her fingers around it.

She felt a thrill of excitement from his touch and forced herself to look at him. It was then that she truly saw him, as though seeing him for the first time, the real Eric, the one behind the defences. This was a kind and caring Eric, an Eric that she suddenly found herself very attracted to. Their eyes were locked and in that instant she would have done anything to feel his lips pressed against her own.

She was starting to feel very warm. She needed to get away, but she was trapped, unable to leave because of her ankle. _What are you thinking_, she scalded herself. Ten minutes ago she had been cursing that he had been to one to bring her some food, and now? Now she was having decidedly different thoughts about the Cavalier.

She clenched her fists and it was the feel of the juice from the crushed mango in her hand that snapped her out of her daydream. She took a deep breath and averted her eyes, focusing on the plate of fruit instead.

Numerous questions were rushing through her head. Had he noticed the way she had been looking at him? Did he know that in only a few seconds he had thrown her into an emotional turmoil? Did he have any kind of feelings for her?

He didn't seem to be behaving any differently, just the same old Eric, albeit the incredibly handsome Eric. She smiled, half to herself, and dared to glance in his direction to find him returning her smile. The moment had passed, for now.

They didn't say anymore, a fact the Acrobat was very relived about, and they continued eating in silence. Even when all the fruit had gone, they remained sitting quietly together, each deep in thought, as the sky outside began to darken and the others made their way back to the cave.

Only Sheila acknowledged her as they entered, giving a wary smile, which Diana gratefully returned. Her friend had forgiven her far more easily than she deserved, but she did not choose to sit with her, obviously noticing that she wanted to be left alone for now.

She had no idea what was going through Eric's head, but for her own part she could think of nothing else but him. She found him annoying and irritating, but he was also sweet, charming, enticing and sexy. She suddenly recalled Dungeon Master's words from what seemed to have been a very long time ago. 'Y_ou will know him again_.' Was this what he had meant, not that she would see '_him_' again, but that she would love again?

She had known the Cavalier for years and had never once considered him in a romantic way until now. Her newly discovered feelings for Eric had caught her complete by surprise, even more so because of how intense she found them to be. _Damn him_, she muttered to herself. She was supposed to be resting. It was getting late and she needed sleep, but she knew that sleep would be the last thing on her mind now. It was going to be a long night.

-X-

THE END


End file.
